ARK Anatomy

An ARK is represented by a sequence of characters that contains the label, "ark:". When embedded in a URL, it is preceded by the protocol ("http://" or "https://") and name of a service that provides support for that ARK. That service name, or the "Name Mapping Authority" (NMA), is mutable and replaceable, as neither the web server itself nor the current web protocols are expected to last longer than the identified objects. The immutable, globally unique identifier follows the "ark:" label. This includes a "Name Assigning Authority Number" (NAAN) identifying the naming organization, followed by the name that it assigns to the object. Please visit the NAAN request form if you are interested in generating and using ARKs for your information objects.

Here is a diagrammed example:

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The NAAN used above, 13030, represents the California Digital Library. As of 2012, roughly a hundred 2018, over 550 organizations have registered for ARK NAANs, including numerous universities, Google, the Internet Archive, WIPO, the British Library, and other national libraries.

Any stable memory organization may obtain a NAAN at no cost and begin assigning ARKs. Please contact the CDLif you are interested in generating and using ARKs for your information objects.

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Another option is to use the EZIDservice (http://ezid.cdlib.org), which means your ARKs would appear to be hosted at n2t.net, as in

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As with any identifier scheme, persistence requires a redirectable reference to content in stable storage. EZIDoperates on a cost-recovery basis and can be used to manage your namespace, which includes minting and resolving ARKs (and other identifiers), as well as maintaining metadata. There's is also guidance on CDL Identifier Conventionsavailable.

Because long-term identifiers often look like random strings of letters and digits, organizations typically use software to generate (or mint, in ARK parlance) and track identifiers. To mint ARKs, you may use any software that can produce identifiers conforming to the ARK specification. CDL uses the open-source open source Noid (nice opaque identifiers, rhymes with "employed") software, which creates minters and accepts commands that operate them. The noid software documentation explains how to use noid not only to mint identifiers but also to serve as an institution's "identifier resolver".

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ARKs in Action – Inflections

* We regret that the examples in this section are temporarily broken.*

An ARK provides extra services above and beyond that of an ordinary URL. Instead of connecting to one thing, an ARK should connect to three things: